Mindy Montford

I would say on a weekly basis, maybe every other week since that meeting in 2017.

I mean, even if it was just an email to check in, we've stayed in touch and stayed close, yes.

I think so.

I'm going to say yes, because there were several reasons.

One, we learned, we actually met with the Golden State Killer investigation team to sort of triage the yogurt shop murders at one point, and we learned...

about all the resources that were available outside of Austin, Texas.

And we thought, if we didn't know about these experts in these private labs, how does Corpus Christi know?

How does Lubbock know?

And why isn't this more of a statewide resource?

And so at some point, we came up with a pitch, and we thought that the Attorney General's Office would be a really good place to have a unit because it has statewide jurisdiction.

You have prosecutors in that office, appellate

prosecutors in the office, and then criminal investigators.

So what a better place than to have it, you know, in the AG's office.

That's right.

And to really be able to serve as a resource for the whole state and to...

Be able to connect, like you said, experts, labs, different cities with each other with different cases that might be similar.

And so we went and made this pitch along with the heirs.

The heirs came to the meeting with the attorney general's office, myself, and then the sergeant of the Austin Police Department Cold Case Unit at the time.

And we did a PowerPoint and I'll never forget, you know, at the very end, the heirs looked at this room full of suits and they said, look, this may not help our case, but if it helps one family, then it's worth it.

Sure, that was a great moment.